The new student residence hall at Park University, which will house 250 students in four-person suites starting this fall semester, boasts an environmentally friendly design.

Copley Quad, designed by architecture firms Ellerbe Becket of Kansas City and Sinclair Hille of Lincoln, Neb,, is LEED Silver-standard, incorporating such features as recycled content carpets, carpet pads and underlayments, landscape that will not require an irrigation system, and exterior lighting that will not create light pollution.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction.

The new dorms are designed with optimal views and natural light, and are projected to provide 25 percent above the standards required by LEED. And, the design includes plumbing that incorporates low-flow fixtures, with a projected water reduction of 40 percent of a similar building with standard features. Further, recycling stations are centrally located on all floors.

The construction project also took advantage of sustainable/renewable wood sources and local sources for items such as stone, and stormwater design has neutralized the run-off for the site, creating more vegetative spaces than previously on the site. Additionally, low solvents (or Voc's) are utilized throughout, including all paints, stains and adhesives.

"Fundamental Building Commissioning" has been performed to create the most efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and the project is utilizing Trane Trace 700 for the intent of achieving optimized energy performance.

There is convenient bicycle storage on site, and parking capacity does not exceed minimum local zoning and requires car-pooling.